Tag: Christian McCaffrey injury

Christian McCaffrey injury fallout continues with more 49ers roster moves

More roster moves for the 49ers on Wednesday.

The San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday continued adjusting to life without running backs Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason.

They announced running back Patrick Taylor’s promotion to the active roster from the practice squad, along with the addition of RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn to the practice squad. Defensive tackle Kevin Givens has also been placed on IR.

Taylor’s promotion isn’t a surprise since San Francisco was so thin at running back. Rookie fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo figures to sit atop the depth chart, but until Tuesday the 49ers didn’t have any healthy players behind him. They claimed former New York Jets RB Israel Abanikanda off waivers to give Guerendo a backup. Taylor gives them a third player on the depth chart, while Vaughn re-joining the club adds internal depth.

This is Taylor’s second stint on the active roster this season. He was let go ahead of McCaffrey’s return in Week 10, but he re-signed to their practice squad after clearing waivers. Now he’ll return to the active roster with a chance to carve out an RB2 role behind Guerendo.

Vaughn was with the 49ers during the preseason and also spent time on their practice squad before being released in mid-November. He’s now back with the club.

Givens suffered a torn pec in the 49ers’ Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills. His injury-riddled season is over after only eight games. The 2019 undrafted free agent signee posted 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a career-high 3.5 sacks this season.

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Christian McCaffrey feared to have suffered season-ending knee injury

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is feared to have suffered a season-ending PCL injury vs. the Buffalo Bills.

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey missed the first eight games of the 2024 season with bilateral Achilles tendinitis.

Now, it looks like McCaffrey’s 2024 campaign could be over altogether.

McCaffrey departed the 49ers’ eventual 35-10 loss at the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night early in the second quarter. The 5-foot-11, 210 pound running back took a pitch from quarterback Brock Purdy but came up lame on the snap.

McCaffrey slid down to the Highmark Stadium playing surface with a non-contact injury.

The 49ers initially listed McCaffrey as questionable before downgrading the star running back to out with a knee injury.

Afterwards, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that McCaffrey is feared to have suffered a potentially season-ending PCL injury.

“Yeah, it was frustrating. You know, he had a great week of practice and I could feel his urgency and stuff. I thought he came out great, looking real good and it looked like he just got his shoestring there. He was about to break a house call. I’m guessing he got hurt on that play. I don’t know. I never got to talk to him, but hurt for him and tough for our team not having him,” Shanahan said.

McCaffrey exited Sunday night’s loss with 53 rushing yards on seven carries and a pair of receptions for 14 yards.

On the season, McCaffrey has rushed 50 times for 202 rushing yards and caught 15 passes for 146 yards in four games.

This comes on the heels of McCaffrey’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year season with the 49ers a season ago. In his first full season in San Francisco during 2023, McCaffrey racked up 1,459 rushing yards, 564 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns.

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Christian McCaffrey ruled out of 49ers’ game vs Bills

San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey was officially ruled out of the 49ers’ Sunday Night Football contest at the Buffalo Bills.

After exiting San Francisco’s Sunday Night Football contest at the Buffalo Bills during the first half with a knee injury, the 49ers confirmed that star running back Christian McCaffrey has been ruled out.

San Francisco defensive lineman Kevin Givens was also ruled out by the 49ers after he exited the first half with a chest injury.

McCaffrey appeared to hurt his knee on a toss play in the second quarter where he started running right and then fell down without being touched. It’s unclear if he was hurt on that play or the previous play, which was a 19-yard run where he was tripped up just as he reached the secondary.

The 49ers superstar RB looked to be back to form after a slow first couple of games back from Achilles tendinitis. He was spry and racked up 67 yards on nine touches, including 53 rushing yards on seven carries.

It’s unclear what the nature of the injury is, but McCaffrey was quickly escorted to the locker room. He was ruled out to start the second half. Jordan Mason has been his primary replacement. Rookie Isaac Guerendo has also gotten opportunities.

Givens’ exit will only make an already hard night more difficult for the 49ers’ defensive line. They’re shorthanded without Nick Bosa and Jordan Elliott. Bosa was ruled out pregame with hip and oblique injuries. Elliott is in the concussion protocol.

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Christian McCaffrey leaves 49ers game vs Bills with knee injury

San Francisco star running back Christian McCaffrey exited the 49ers Sunday Night Football game against the Bills with a knee injury.

After missing the first eight games of the season with bilateral Achilles tendinitis, San Francisco star running back Christian McCaffrey returned to the fold during the 49ers’ Week 10 triumph over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Early in San Francisco’s Sunday Night Football battle at the Buffalo Bills, McCaffrey’s injury issues flared back up.

After a promising start to the evening, McCaffrey took a toss from starting quarterback Brock Purdy and was sprinting right before coming up lame and sliding down of his own accord.

McCaffrey exited and was swiftly taken into the 49ers’ medical tent. Eventually, McCaffrey was taken into the locker room for further examination.

According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, it’s a knee injury for McCaffrey and he is questionable to return.

McCaffrey exited the contest with San Francisco trailing the Buffalo Bills 7-3 from Highmark Stadium and with seven carries for 53 yards and a pair of receptions for 14 yards.

How much will 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey play in Week 11 vs. Seahawks?

Christian McCaffrey’s workload was a question in Week 10. It’s not in Week 11.

Don’t expect the San Francisco 49ers to take their foot off the gas in their usage of running back Christian McCaffrey.

McCaffrey returned in Week 10 after missing the first nine weeks to work through Achilles tendinitis. It stood to reason that his usage might start slow and then ramp up.

Instead, he played 88 percent of the snaps, accounted for 13 of their 18 designed carries, and received seven of the 36 available targets – the second-most on the team. While that sounds like a heavy workload, head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday after the team’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers indicated there’s no plan to slow down on McCaffrey’s workload.

“I didn’t think we rode him pretty hard,” Shanahan said. “But no, I think we were good with it and we’ll see how this year goes. That was our first game with him. I think he had 19 touches, which I think is a little less than he had last year. But it was our first game back with him and we didn’t want him to go too many series in a row. We started taking him out, I think we did it in between two series in the first half, and once we only had one drive in the third quarter and we got into that fourth quarter, we weren’t taking him out in the fourth. So, we’ll see how the year goes with it.”

With key games coming up against the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers, the 49ers will likely wind up leaning even heavier on McCaffrey before they ease up on his usage.

There’ll be some injury management required, but early on it appears the team will be doing that by limiting his practice reps. Once the games begin, it figures to be business as usual with McCaffrey as the focal point of the 49ers’ offense.

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Why was Christian McCaffrey limited for 49ers in 1st Week 11 practice?

Christian McCaffrey was limited in Wednesday’s practice, but that’s no reason for alarm.

The San Francisco 49ers have a new weekly problem to solve now that running back Christian McCaffrey has returned from Achilles tendinitis.

While it’s certainly a positive that the reigning Offensive Player of the Year is back in their lineup, the club now has to navigate managing his injury. Part of that will likely be limited practice work and plenty of appearances for McCaffrey on the practice participation report as a result.

McCaffrey debuted Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and notched 13 carries to go along with six receptions on seven targets. He got through the game without issue, but showed up on Wednesday’s practice report as a limited participant.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan before Wednesday’s session said there was no setback for McCaffrey and that his limited practice was a product of how the 49ers are choosing to manage the injury.

It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if McCaffrey didn’t have a full participation in a full practice the rest of the year.

There doesn’t appear to be any inkling from the club or Shanahan that McCaffrey’s workload will diminish greatly this year. He averaged 21.2 touches per game last season and came out of the gate with his 19 in Week 10.

Shanahan didn’t seem bothered by the number of touches McCaffrey received in his debut, indicating he’ll likely continue being the workhorse back for San Francisco. Where they will shortcut his usage is in practice where full participation isn’t required for McCaffrey to be effective during the week.

This may all change if he has a setback at some point, but for now we can get used to seeing McCaffrey on the participation report as less than a full participant.

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What did Christian McCaffrey do, how much did he play in return for 49ers?

Christian McCaffrey looked good in his return for the 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers got a little closer to complete Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when running back Christian McCaffrey returned to the lineup.

It wasn’t a perfect day for the 49ers’ offense, but McCaffrey looked mostly like himself and had an immediate impact for San Francisco.

McCaffrey played 89 percent of the offensive snaps according to CBS Sports’ Dave Richard. He churned out 39 rushing yards on 13 carries, and hauled in six of his seven targets for 68 yards.

The 49ers’ offensive line struggled some against Tampa Bay’s defensive line and led to a handful of carries where McCaffrey didn’t have much room.

Despite the lack of rushing production, McCaffrey’s presence in the passing game made life easier for quarterback Brock Purdy, who made a handful of checkdown throws to McCaffrey instead of taking off running or forcing a throw into a tight window down the field.

He was also on the receiving end of a huge completion in the fourth quarter. With the 49ers trailing 17-13, McCaffrey was matched up one-on-one in coverage and had a step on his defender. Purdy was under pressure and had to throw early. He lofted a pass into the area ahead of McCaffrey, allowing the RB to race underneath it for a 30-yard completion.

That was the kind of play the 49ers weren’t able to run with Jordan Mason or Isaac Guerendo. And even if they ran it, Purdy likely wouldn’t have had the trust with one of them to air out a throw the way he did.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan after the game told reporters McCaffrey also made it through the game without any issues.

“He came out great, which was huge,” Shanahan said. “We knew it was going to be hard to load manage him, I think everyone says in the media, I just say not play him as much. We did that in the first half, we did a couple series and stuff, in the second half it got away from us a little bit. We only had one drive in that whole third quarter – didn’t have as many possessions and we weren’t taking him out on the fourth, and he didn’t need to be taken out, talking to him, he felt great. Going to be pumped to have him back next week.”

San Francisco isn’t out of the woods just because McCaffrey returned. They still struggled in the red zone, which was an area the reigning Offensive Player of the Year figured to help. He wasn’t much of a factor there, and Guerendo even got in for a couple of red zone snaps.

That’s something the 49ers and McCaffrey will need to iron out. For now they benefitted from his return enough to earn a win in Tampa Bay. They may need more down the stretch if they’re going to make a playoff run this season.

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49ers injury update: Christian McCaffrey returns to practice

CMC is back in practice.

The San Francisco 49ers on Monday dished out the best potential post-Bye week news.

Ahead of Monday’s bonus practice after their Bye, the 49ers will open running back Christian McCaffrey’s 21-day practice window in preparation for his return from IR per Matt Barrows of the Athletic. He’s been on the injured list since Week 2 with Achilles tendinitis. He missed most of training camp and was limited in practice all week leading up to the season opener. The team listed him as questionable for Week 1, but he ended up missing the game which put his long-term absence in motion.

McCaffrey won’t officially be activated off IR until Saturday at the earliest. The 49ers will have until Monday, Nov. 25 to activate him, or he’ll be placed back on IR for the rest of the season.

By opening his practice window the 49ers will be able to have McCaffrey on the field for Monday’s practice and all three sessions leading up to a Week 10 showdown with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan before the Bye week said McCaffrey would ramp up his rehab during the week off with simulated practices. The practice window opening means those sessions went well. There’s a chance we may see the reigning Offensive Player of the Year back in uniform for Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay if things go well during the week.

Getting McCaffrey back will be a major boost for the 49ers’ offense. Without him they’ve relied more on downfield throws, they’ve lacked in yards-after-catch, and they’ve struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone. His return should help in all of those areas, even if he doesn’t hit the ground running with a full workload.

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When is Christian McCaffrey coming back for 49ers?

Here’s the potential timeline for Christian McCaffrey’s return.

All signs point to running back Christian McCaffrey returning for the San Francisco 49ers shortly after their Week 9 Bye.

But what exactly does McCaffrey’s timeline look like?

Nothing will happen officially until the 49ers’ Bye week ends. They’re technically off through Sunday. They’ll have a bonus practice Monday and head coach Kyle Shanahan said the hope is to have McCaffrey on the field for that practice.

In order to get McCaffrey back for that session, the 49ers will have to open his 21-day practice window Monday. That’s when we can expect that official announcement.

Since the team isn’t holding any Bye week practices, McCaffrey will be ramping up his rehab with simulated workouts during the week off to ensure his Achilles responds well before joining a live practice.

What’ll be interesting is whether McCaffrey can get ready to return with one full week of practice.

He’d get Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to participate before playing in the 49ers’ Week 10 showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If he needs just one week of practice, which is the same amount of time wide receiver Ricky Pearsall needed for his ramp up, the team would officially activate him off IR on Saturday, Nov. 9. If he’s not activated then, it means he’ll need to wait at least another week.

If his 21-day window opens Monday, as expected, it means the 49ers will have until Nov. 25 to either activate him or place him on season-ending IR.

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49ers place Christian McCaffrey on IR

CMC will miss the next four games while on Injured Reserve.

Updating an ongoing story, San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (calf, Achilles) was placed on the Reserve/Injured list on Saturday, Sept. 14. He is eligible to return in Week 6 at the Seattle Seahawks.

Fantasy football advice: After days of speculation, McCaffrey was placed on IR ahead of Week 2 action, which saves the team a game he was scheduled to miss anyway. The four-week absence means RB Jordan Mason will man the primary role of the backfield, and we could see a hint of RB Isaac Guerendo sprinkled in. However, after Week 1’s utilization, look for FB Kyle Juszczyk to get more opportunities than the rookie. Stash CMC as long as it takes, and be diligent on the waiver wire if you were unable to secure the services of Mason.